Omega Team
by Lord Genesis Shadow
Summary: Some say that all but a few Spartans died on Reach. What they didn't know, was that there was a secret project within the Spartan program, and that all five of them survived. AU. OCXOC. Chapter three is up, one and two fixed.
1. Training days on Reach Part 1

Omega Team: Training Days on Reach

Disclaimer: Apart from owning three Halo games, I don't own Halo. That honor is reserved for Bungee.

Don't know why I'm doing this, don't really care. I just write what I feel like, when I feel like it. I don't know how it will turn out, but this strategy has worked for me enough times for me to let it have a chance. I'll get the books later, maybe for Christmas.

Free time, be damned already. I've got so much time; I may as well be designing the Chiefs armor myself. And I would be… if someone hadn't already done it.

…

"Omega-001, what is your position?" Said a female voice in his helmet. "Omega-001? Gene, where are you?"

Spartan Omega-001 was the strangest Spartan soldier of the program. He would almost always be found sleeping. Provided that you _could_ find him. Stealth was one of his better known qualities. In fact, he was considered the most skilled Spartan child altogether. He was the most creative, the most physically powerful, and had the densest bone mass to begin with.

He stood at six feet nine inches tall and had natural blue hair. He had Heterochromia; one green eye, one silver. His skin was pale, mostly due to his constant sleeping, partly due to his armor.

He had just received his armor and had already managed to swipe enough paint to make his signature on the left shoulder; a green eyed, silver feathered peregrine falcon.

"Yeah? What do you want?" He asked. His voice was deep and very rough.

"Where the hell are you?" She asked. "It's almost chow time, and we'd like to know you'll be joining us." Said the female. He chuckled. It was his closest friend, Liz 022, a fellow Omega Spartan.

There were five Omegas altogether, but their numbers were spread out. He held 001 since he was the one chosen to be their leader. They were the elite Spartans, receiving better training, better armor, and better weapons.

They were all eighteen as well, though they looked to be twenty at least.

Gene was the only one to receive his armor, the others not having passed the tests for them yet.

"I'm at the usual place." He replied as he sat up.

He was sitting in an abandoned watch tower. It was abandoned because the tower itself had collapsed and the roof of it was on top of the search area.

He simply had to lift the roof enough and he could slip in and sleep whenever he wanted. Somehow, the roof dampened his suits transponder enough that they couldn't find him without using a handheld tracker.

"Well get back here." She said in an annoyed tone. "Sarah's looking for you, and she said she's going to break out the tracker again." Liz sat in the bunk room and heard a sigh on the other end of the comm.

Liz had red hair and eyes. She stood at Six feet nine inches as well, and she got along with Gene almost like a sister. She had fair skin and short hair, like most of the other Spartans.

"Alright." He said with a yawn. She heard a slight groan. She knew his armor was very heavy, and was one of the only things she ever heard him complain about being so, even if he was only joking. He could bench well over six tons with little effort, and with an adrenaline rush, he could lift a Pelican dropship off the ground and toss it for assisted flight. "I'm on the way. See you in three." She giggled. She enjoyed hearing him say that. It was like his signature phrase.

"See you in three Boss." She said happily. Some Spartans were given a nickname based on any number of things.

Gene had several; Boss, mainly because he was the leader, partly because was good at it. Sharps, because his best weapon was his sniper rifle. Speedy, because he was faster than any Spartan in the program. And Sensei, since he had learned a great deal about martial arts long before becoming a Spartan. In fact, he had almost injured their combat teacher in a routine exercise.

…

True to his word, he had made it to the room in three minutes flat. He stretched as their 'den-mother', Sarah, walked in.

Sarah was a normal human woman of twenty seven years. She was five feet, eight inches tall with long blonde hair and round glasses. She could almost always be seen with her blue jacket and red shirt, unless she was in the lab, in which case, she would wear a lab coat. She was always kind, except when something bad would happen to the Spartans she was taking care of, in which case she would become very protective.

"There you are." She said with a sigh. "I was about to break out the tracker." Gene shrugged.

"You said that if I completed my work early, I was free to do whatever I felt like." He said in a deadpan voice. Sarah placed her right hand on her forehead.

"And you felt like a nap?" She asked. Liz stood at attention, mentally snickering as Gene nodded. "You have got to be the laziest Spartan ever Omega-001." Gene shrugged again.

"I can't help it if I'm tired." He said, still in deadpan. "I'm a growing Spartan who needs his sleep." Sarah sighed. She had heard him speaking animatedly with the other Spartans, but when he spoke to her, all she got was that tone.

"You're going to wear your armor to dinner again?" She asked. Gene nodded.

"You told me to break it in, and that is what I intend to do." He answered. Liz saluted as Gene began the slight task of removing his helmet. He pressed a button on the left wrist, which controlled the pressurization of the suit. He then turned his head slightly to the right as he twisted the helmet to the left, out of his custom connector system, which was more or less an inverted twist off soda bottle design, ironically being the inspiration for the way he designed it. "And I think that nap was just what I needed." Sarah sighed again as Gene tucked his helmet under his right arm.

"Okay, just don't do anything to cause a food fight today, or you'll be pulling KP in the afternoon tomorrow." Sarah said warningly. Gene nodded.

He was allowed great freedom since he acquired his armor. He no longer was required to salute his superiors unless they were there for evaluation. He also was allowed to alter his personal diet as he saw fit. And as a gift from High Command, he was always provided with double rations, which he always split evenly among his team.

"I'll try." He replied, shrugging once. "But that last one wasn't entirely my fault. Jerrid-629 threw the first piece, and I got caught in the crossfire. I'll try not to let it happen again." Sarah nodded as the dinner bell rang.

"See to it that you do." She warned. "Dismissed." Liz lowered her hand as she walked out the door, Gene following while looking at the helmet.

He had been given the early prototype armor; The MJOLNIR Mark IV. The first three versions were partially failures, but each paved the way for the next in line. His however had a slight modification to it; A series of visual selections, ranging from thermal to X-ray to ultraviolet.

"What did you order for the team today Boss?" Liz asked. Gene looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I remembered that you'd been saying you wanted more vegetables, so I ordered a salad with your favorites." He answered thoughtfully. Liz grinned. She liked him more than she let on, but wasn't sure how he felt about her. "Zed kept harping about nachos. It took a while, but I got some. Not sure if he'll like them, but we should be able to split it up evenly. He didn't say anything about cheese, but I special ordered my favorite kind, from those old convenience stores." Liz chuckled lightly as he grinned.

"That spicy stuff?" She asked incredulously. He nodded. He spoke about it whenever someone asked what his favorite cheese was, which was a surprisingly common question. The Spartans were somewhat close, despite numbers and designations. They all had wanted to try the cheese, so Gene had ordered a fair bit of it, asking that it be passed to all Spartans this day so they could experience it. "Are you sure it's a good idea? Nobody's lactose intolerant, but if it's as spicy as you remember, it could cause problems." Gene shook his head.

"With all the stuff they've modified us with; I'm surprised we can still taste things at all." He said jokingly. Liz nodded. She and Gene were further modified from the normal Spartans, as were the other Omegas.

Along with the carbide ceramic ossification that all Spartans were given, the Omegas were given a small fraction more. In Gene's case, small amounts of an unknown, but stronger, metal were added to his skeleton. Four of the Omegas were slightly more durable than the others, and Gene was almost unstoppable against most close combat weapons.

Basically, Gene was given experimental upgrades on a different level than his friends. They themselves were almost twice as dangerous as normal Spartans, but Gene was on a whole different level altogether.

"Oh well." She said quietly. "At least we're alive. I heard that thirty other Spartans have died, and about a dozen more can't even fight." Gene shook his head.

"Seventy five of us come in, and we're already suffering casualties." He replied. Liz sighed as they entered the mess hall.

"Well, that just means we'll have to fight harder." She said proudly. "For the sake of those that don't make it." Gene nodded as Liz picked up her tray. As he picked up his own, he sniffed the air.

"Ah. This scent is amazing." He said happily. "A little bit of home came back to us." He settled into the line, helmet under his right arm, tray held in his left.

As he got closer to the end, he heard one of the Spartans laugh. He turned his head and saw Jerrid looking into a small paper cup. It was the cheese.

"Thank you Gene." He said loudly. "I'd heard rumors, but it looks like he came through after all." Jerrid turned his head and saluted Gene. They weren't as close as they were with their squad mates, but they weren't enemies. Rivals more like it. Jerrid was always pushing himself a little harder each test, trying to prove that he could be as strong as Gene.

"Always nice to hear that you're still a nice guy." A deep voice said. Gene turned his head to see the chef looking at him with a smile. Chef Murray was a good man, and a better cook. He had made the nearly inedible slop from HQ into fairly decent meals.

"If not that, what am I?" Gene replied with a smile. Murray nodded as he placed a large bowl of salad on the tray, followed by the bowl of tortilla chips. Gene smiled as Murray gave him the equally large bowl of cheese. Gene was always the last to get his food, simply because he had larger portions due to his heightened metabolism. "Thanks Murray. Where would we be without you?" With a smile, Gene walked away, carefully balancing his tray on his way to the table.

"Let me help." Jerrid said quickly. "You gave us cheese; I can get your salad to the table." Gene smiled as Jerrid picked up the bowl, making it easier to get to his table.

"Thanks Jerrid." He said gratefully. "How'd you do at the sniping test?" Jerrid shrugged.

"Not bad." He replied. "Three off of your record. I took too long focusing the shots." Gene nodded as Jerrid set the salad at the table. "What'd they stick you with today?"

"Advanced Combat Driving." He answered with a shrug. Jerrid snickered.

"I wouldn't trust you with a golf cart, let alone a jeep." He said calmly. Gene chuckled as he set the tray down, followed by his helmet. "What's so funny?"

"Wasn't a jeep this time." The omega replied. Jerrid looked at Gene as he sat at the table.

"What was it?" He asked. Gene looked back at him, smirking.

"It was a warthog." He said proudly. "The new one." Jerrids' jaw dropped.

"You lucky punk." He said in a stunned tone. They both laughed while Gene turned around.

"You can try to take me down a peg tomorrow." He said with a grin. "We've got that interteam challenge tomorrow. Winning team gets their suits early. Though if Omega wins, I get to customize my armors color scheme." Jerrid snickered again.

"I'll make sure that if you do win, you'll have to earn it." He warned.

Gene sniffed his salad before laughing. After a second, his team sat down next to him. They were talking to some of the other Spartans, one in particular that had just arrived. The planet Reach was very quiet, and very ideal to stimulate their minds. The new Spartan walked over with the Omegas and sat down quietly. Jerrid walked away to join his team for dinner.

"Hello." He said, barely loud enough to not be mistaken for a grunt. "You must be the new guy. I'm Gene-001." He held out his right hand while the new boy stared at his armor. "Okay, stunned. I get that from time to time."

"What are you wearing?" He asked. Gene looked at his armor, smiling at his luck.

"MJOLNIR Mark IV powered armor." He said proudly. "I got lucky on the tests and they gave me my suit early. We all get a suit, once we've passed the tests." The new boy nodded.

"I can't wait for mine." He said hopefully. "I'm John-117 by the way." He shook Genes hand slowly. "I'm not sure how long I'll be here. I was told that I'd just be passing through." Gene chuckled.

"You picked a great time to pass through then." He said happily. "We've got a competition between squads tomorrow." John nodded.

"I've heard." He replied. "I wish I could participate, but they said I should wait until they finish the paperwork." Gene nodded in response.

"Too bad." He said, sounding somewhat dejected. "We could use another member. All the other squads have six or seven kids. We've got five." John looked at Gene's meal before looking at his own. "And before you ask, I've been stuck with a few botches in the system. Due to my status as leader, and the fact that I've proven so myself so skillful, I get double rations." He picked up his fork and skewered a few pieces of lettuce while Liz moved her tray over to him. He set the salad bowl, now only half full, onto her plate. He then set the tortilla bowl and cheese bowl in the center of the table. "Feel free to dig in John. Just because I get special treatment, doesn't mean I'm rude."

"Thanks. I didn't get lunch today." John said as he grabbed a tortilla and dipped it in the cheese.

"No problem." Gene said quickly. "As long as you're passing through, I'm considering you part of my squad." Zed picked a chip for himself, as did Liz. Gene gestured to them in turn, introducing them and their positions in the team. "This is Zed-015, the demolitions expert." Zed raised his nacho before eating it. He had brown hair and eyes. He was the calm guy of the group, despite his role in the team. "This is Liz-022, second in command and our communications officer." Two other Spartans sat down on either side of John. "These are Arthur-045 and Richard-046." They picked a chip as he spoke their names. They were identical, save for their eyes. Arthur had blue eyes, Richard had green eyes. They both had dirty blonde hair and a penchant for being difficult to stop when they worked together. "Arthur, or Art, as we call him, is the field medic. Richard, or Sparky as we've come to know him, is our mechanic. He can take apart a jeep in under an hour in good light." John nodded.

"What do you do, besides being the leader?" John asked. Gene chuckled.

"I'm a Jack of all trades, or rather an Ace." He answered smugly. "You name it, I can do it. Explosives, communications, machinery, sniping. And I've almost got the hang of driving." Liz laughed as he spoke. He always warmed up to strangers quickly.

"Really?" John asked, in awe of the armored Spartan before him. Gene nodded.

"I get a lot of training in every day." He said proudly. "I'm a fast learner, almost too fast. If it weren't for my requests, I'd be out of here, away from my friends. I'm too valuable for the guys at high command to pull me from my team. That and we work together so well, they made us into an official squad." Gene ate all of his salad in one bite, chewing it rapidly and swallowing the resulting lettuce paste.

"Cool." John said quietly. "What do they call your team?" Gene looked serious for a moment before grinning, as did the rest of the team, before they all spoke at the same time.

"Spartan group Omega." They said in a resounding tone, making several other Spartans laugh out loud. Liz slowly crunched on her salad as the others ate the chips, when the door opened.

"John-117, where are you?" Sara asked. John stood up. She walked in and made a beeline to the new Spartan. "Good. The papers have been finalized. The day after tomorrow, you will be transferred to a new facility." John nodded as she looked him over. "And I see you've met the Omegas." He nodded again, followed by her sighing. "Be careful around them. They've been known to attract trouble around dinner." She looked at Gene, who was quietly eating his nachos while Zed, Art, and Sparky all started fanning their tongues.

"I told them the cheese was spicy." Gene said in monotone. John looked at him curiously.

"Can't you open up to me Gene?" Sarah asked. "I may not be your mother, but you could at least try to think of me as a friend." Gene looked at her for a moment before sliding down the bench, near the middle. He wasn't really sitting; more like squatting. If he sat, the armor would probably break the chair.

"Okay." He said with a shrug. He picked out a chip and held it out to her. "Join us for dinner then?" Sarah sighed happily. She always wanted to connect with him, and she felt like now was her chance. She sat down, as did John, and took the chip and dipped it in the cheese as three of the Omegas drank their water quickly.

"What's wrong with them?" She asked, sounding a bit concerned. "Are they ill?" Gene shook his head as he positioned his helmet on his lap.

"This cheese is a bit spicy." He explained. "I warned them to get milk, but they didn't want to." Sarah ate her chip and enjoyed talking to them before they went to their relaxing period.

…

Gene had taken to his favorite activity for his free time. Sleeping. Though now he slept in plain view, with his helmet at his side. Liz was reading a book on various subjects that she figured would come in handy. Mainly tactics from old civilizations. Difficult though it was, she was making notes on how to adapt large numbered maneuvers to work with five people.

Arthur and his twin were practicing some martial arts that Gene had taught them, while Zed was reading on how to properly defuse large explosives. John had been assigned to the Omega barracks for the duration of his stay. He was doing basic exercises, pushups and the like.

Sarah was lying on her jacket, looking up at the sky. It was late in the day, and most of the other Spartans had retired to their barracks to plan for the competition.

"Do you have any plans Liz?" Gene asked quietly. He had a habit of waking up and spooking people when they approached, but Liz seemed like she would never flinch.

The reason was almost unheard of, but not one person could find any other way to explain it. They both had some level of psychic ability. Not much, but they could tell when they were near each other. Gene had trained his ability from childhood, while Liz was just getting used to having the ability herself.

"The first contest will be the hardest, though I think we can do it if we work together." She answered. The competition was done in three parts, spread over the course of the day.

The first contest was a survival exercise. They would be dropped into a large maze, separated from each other, and the objective was to find each other and get out of the maze. All but Gene would be given a communicator. There was a catch however; they would only be able to make a few crude noises. Other than that, they had to use whatever was around to achieve their objective. The team with the lowest time would win.

"What do you reckon?" He asked calmly. Liz shook her head.

"We should try to rig a system so you can communicate with us." She said thoughtfully. "Or some way to re-wire the squawkers to send proper messages. If not, you should come up with something to signal us. Remember, you can only use what you take in with you." Gene sat up and stretched his arms.

"I'll bring the suit." He said with a groan. "That much is a given." Liz nodded as Zed sat down near them.

"Too bad I can't bring one of my bombs." He said dejectedly. Gene chuckled.

"I've got an idea, but I'll wait until we go to bed to let you know." He said with a mischievous tone. Liz and Zed exchanged curious glances. Whenever Gene would come up with a plan, it had a tendency to be complex in the amount of simplicity. "Other than that, I can't wait until the second part." They all smiled as Sarah sighed again.

The second contest was one she always worried about. They would place two of the eight teams in a small forest area with paintball guns. This was to test how well the teams worked together. They would wear special suits that transmitted to a damage readout on their goggles. The suits were full body worn and looked like standard Marine issue combat gear.

Each hit would realistically, based on the stats from the wearer, enact damage, such as shutting down the use of a limb should enough damage be sustained. Various types of paintball guns were to be scattered about the map and would fire similar shots.

Assault Paintball rifles would be provided at first, along with a single paintball firing pistol. Other weapons included a paint rocket launcher, which fired a large cartridge full of paint, around a liter or so. A trio of paintball firing sniper rifles would be set for each team. Each team also had a base that they could fall back to should the need arise. The final weapon would be scrambled after at the start of the match. It was a mockery of the Covenant plasma rifle.

The paint was filled with special nanites that told the suits what weapon fired it, thus modifying damage based on that information.

"Yeah." Gene said in a mock troubled tone. "That's going to be the decider." Zed looked at Gene for a moment, and then smiled. "I'm sure that we'll win that one. But if we don't, it's okay." They all laughed as a Pelican flew overhead. Unknown to them, it contained something that would change the rules of their training.

…

Repairs of chapter one: Complete. Took longer than I wanted, but I like how it turned out.


	2. Training days on Reach Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Halo.

Ah, the joy of making minor repairs. It's almost as fun as… watching frickin' paint dry. But for my loyal readers, I will gladly be bored if it means that your reading experience is made just a little bit better.

...

Gene woke up earlier that usual that morning. He swung his feet over the edge of his bunk and looked down at the floor. He had chosen the top bunk, and usually wondered why. He dropped down and landed silently. He looked at his armor and gently ran his right hand down the chest of it. He knew that they were working on replicating and improving the shields used by the 'Elites'. He looked at his team, noting each one and their abilities. They were more than his team mates, more than his friends. Aside from Liz, they were his family. He had come to think of Liz as his something more as of late.

Then he looked at the new Spartan. John-117. Gene felt a mysterious air about the boy. He was taller than the others, almost six and a half feet tall. He had said that he was seventeen, but had only recently been transferred into their camp. Gene had called him an honorary Omega. That didn't sway their C.O., but Gene never expected it to. He just felt like trying. He knew that John was destined for something great, though what that was, would be hard to figure out.

He stretched his arms and grabbed his freshly laundered towel and made for the showers. They had soundproofed the showers so that early risers wouldn't wake the others, for which Gene was often thankful.

There was some kind of lapse with his psychic ability in the morning. He couldn't sense Liz after waking up. It took an hour for him to establish that connection, and he had found that it was also true for Liz. Thanks to this lapse in ability, he didn't notice that she was not in her bunk, which was below his.

He slept with earplugs, as did everyone else. The reason behind this was that Zed snored like a rusty chainsaw. Gene entered the shower portion and did not hear the water running.

He took off his shirt, eyes closed due to being so tired. After removing his pants, and since he did not bothering wearing underwear, he put the towel on a rack and entered the shower with his soap and back scrubber. He turned on his stalls water and when he opened his eyes, he wished that he hadn't.

Liz had also woke up earlier than usual, due to her going to bed before the others. She still had her earplugs, but she felt water from another direction. She turned around to see that Gene had his back to her. She giggled as he removed his earplugs. She did so as well and turned away.

"Hello Gene." She said with a small giggle. He groaned slightly, still partly asleep.

"Hey Liz." He replied groggily. "Sorry about barging in on you again. Earplugs and grogginess." He heard her laugh and just focused on getting clean.

"I know." She said calmly. "Third time though." He laughed quietly.

"Can't wait until we get our sense in proper sync." He joked. "Then we can avoid this if we want." They both laughed, used to this happening. It wasn't against regulations to form relationships between team mates, or co-ed showering, but it was recommended that such be avoided if possible.

"How'd you sleep?" She asked. Gene thought about the question for a moment.

He had a problem when he slept at night, usually having dreams that were remarkably strange. Some times, he would dream of something happening that did happen later that day or week.

He had saved the lives of his squad the first day thanks to this, though it was by chance. The pilot that was bringing them to the camp suffered a heart attack and the co-pilot was out with the flu. Gene had brought the Pelican in and saved the pilot.

"No weird dreams, but I did notice that Sparky had his sunglasses on." He replied. Liz laughed.

The twins had kicked each other at the same time, causing both to end up unconscious, though without concussions. They had not removed either brother's sunglasses since they didn't fall off on their own.

"What do you think of our chances for today?" She asked. Gene smiled inwardly.

"Probably going to win." He said confidently. "Most likely." Liz giggled as Gene shut off his water. He washed fast because he liked to do some exercises in the mornings whenever possible.

Today though, he just wanted to clean his armor. He wanted to look presentable for their C.O., who usually had too much paperwork to oversee their development. Today, he would oversee the entire competition and award the MJOLNIR armors to the winning team.

"Sounds like you aren't worried." She said happily. "Are you sure that your plan for the maze will work?" She turned her head to see that he was still in his stall, head turned to see her face, and his smile visible.

"Almost positive." He replied as he gave her a thumbs up sign with his right hand.

…

He believed that the lower the chance of success, the more likely it would work. He based this on the fact that such plans had a large element of chance based around one or more implausible ideas, and that they worked simply because of that.

Liz smiled as she turned off her own water and turned around. She hadn't developed her breasts very well yet, but Gene couldn't help but turn away blushing. They wrapped their towels around themselves and walked over to their lockers.

"Gene?" She asked. She opened her locker and began putting her shirt on when she heard Gene open his own locker.

"Yes Liz?" He replied. She blushed. She had promised that today she would ask him to be her boyfriend.

"What do you think of me?" She asked. She heard him putting on his pants before hearing him mutter to himself. "Gene?" She looked from behind her locker door and saw a small note on it.

"I like you." He said clearly. "You're the best friend I've ever had." She looked at the note and saw a picture of her wearing armor like his with him standing to her right.

She had her helmet in her left hand, and he had his in his right and they were holding hands under a starlit sky. The amount of detail was astounding for such a small note, and so well drawn. Under it were three words; 'Be my girlfriend?' She blushed as Gene put on his shirt, followed by his shoes. Liz put on her panties, followed by her own pants and shoes.

"Gene?" She asked. She was behind his locker door, the note stashed in her own. He closed the door and turned to her and she kissed him on the lips. "Yes." They blushed as they heard the door opening.

They turned away, wanting to surprise the others later. Gene opened his locker again and pulled out a small tinfoil covered package.

"We're going to need this." He said quietly.

Liz saw the package and smiled. It was a little thing he had smuggled from their Pelican before they left it. She knew he had it, but kept it a secret.

He closed the door as John entered the room.

"Oh, hey." He said, hanging his towel on a rack. "Don't mind if I use the shower?" They both shrugged as he entered the small room beyond the doorway. They left and began planning how they would go about re-wiring the radios.

…

They had a hurried breakfast, despite that Reach had a long day ahead of them; twenty seven hour days were perfect for this kind of thing.

All teams had breakfast in the barracks so they could plan how best to use the three hours before the first challenge, and Omega was the first team on the list. Gene opened a small notebook, which detailed the supplies each member would have.

"Zed, you're on flare duty." He said quickly. "You know how to make them right?" Zed nodded.

He'd spent all afternoon figuring out how to make the flares. An hour before the challenge, they were to order supplies from their caregiver, Sarah. Gene had the ingredients outlined as he tore the page from the notebook and handed it to Zed. They each had to order their supplies separately, to prevent them from wasting time arguing about what they would need.

"No problem Boss, I'll get them ready with time to spare." He replied.

They weren't allowed to order high tech stuff, but they could order parts and small devices, such as GPS mapping devices. Liz and Gene would both order one apiece.

"Art, you take care of medical supplies." Gene said. "No telling if they have traps in there, so we'd best be prepared." Art saluted as Gene handed him his page. "Sparky, you're on camera duty, so make sure to get enough supplies, and work with Liz on getting the portable receiver ready." Sparky nodded as he took his page. "Liz, you know what to do. Get the tracker ready, and make one for each of us. We'll all head to the center, but until then, we work out a series of sounds to identify each other." Liz smiled as Gene handed her the second to last page. John looked over at Gene, who looked at the last page of his notebook.

"What will you be doing?" He asked. Gene smirked.

"I'm working on a portable sonar mapping device." He said. "Take a GPS, modify it to send out a sound wave that rings as a beep on the comm.'s frequency, and get it to map the layout of the maze." John nodded, in awe of his planning. "I'm also handing out special transponders from a Pelican. My suit is able to pick up the small beacons signal, so I'll be able to home in on the others if my sonar map plan falls through. They're just small enough that no one will notice them when we go in." They all put their hands in the center, including John, despite that he wouldn't be able to help them.

...

They had the equipment ready, they had the plan and their parts memorized, and they all stood at their positions. They were all in separate harnesses on separate Pelicans, and they were all blindfolded, save Gene in his armor, who had a lead bucket on his head so he couldn't see through it. The maze itself was lead lined so nobody could use a GPS. It generated a field that made the device unable to see the maze on the screen. Not that Omega team needed it.

"Ready Gene?" His proctor asked. He nodded. He was dropped from his harness and landed heavily. He pulled the bucket off of his head and looked at it.

'Good noise maker.' He thought. He slung it over his right shoulder and started walking forward, the way behind him being a wall. The walls around him were fifty feet high, making it a very bad place for sound. He whistled and was proven right. 'Echo. I hope this doesn't negatively impact my sonar plan.'

...

What they didn't know was that the maze had a single live Elite within it somewhere. It was a test, since they were supposed to be the best of the best. He wasn't a powerful one, and he had been stripped of most of his armor and all of his weapons. He wasn't chained, but he stood guard over the exit, knowing that if he escaped, he would be rendered unconscious and placed back within. He was planning a way to get out, until he saw the Pelicans drop something big. And olive drab in color.

...

Liz set down on the ground and put her blindfold in her pocket, hoping she could use it later. She looked around and heard an echoing whistle. She focused her mind and felt Gene close by. She whistled in response.

...

Zed fumbled as he hit the ground and hastily put his blindfold in his pocket. He took a step forward and heard a faint whistle, followed by another a second later. He whistled as well, figuring he could at least notify the others.

...

The twins set down and simultaneously whistled, having heard three. They had a bond like Liz and Gene, able to sense each other when they were close by. They quickly put the blindfolds away and started walking toward the noise.

...

Gene noted the whistles and pulled out his sonic location device, hoping that it would work. He looked down at it and turned it on. A moment of silence preceded a high pitched beep. Three seconds of silence, then another beep, and the screen lit up with an image of the walls, and an image of himself. The device worked, but he didn't know how long the battery would last. He had been forced to boost the power to get the beep and did not have time to rig a system to hook it in to his suit.

'All right, I somehow managed improvised sonar.' He thought. He turned it off to conserve the battery, still uncertain of how long it would last. 'Now all I have to do is find the others.' He began walking, so as to keep watch for traps. His motion sensor picked up movement every so often nearby, but it was a larger blip than it should have been. The walls were dampening his ranged scanners.

He started picking up the pace and came to a crossroad. He pulled out the sonar and turned it on. He only needed two bursts from it, having wirelessly linked the map to his HUD, allowing him to figure out where he was. He spotted a figure to his left and looked that way. The figure was behind a wall so he turned to go that way after turning the sonar off.

"I hope I find Sensei soon. I'm getting a bit lost." It was Art, or maybe it was Sparky. Gene had never been able to tell their voices apart unless they were both nearby and talking to him at the same time. The figure turned the corner as Gene looked the other way, checking the map on his view. The other direction available did not lead to a dead end, so he would ask the person about the way they came from. "Sensei, over here!" Gene turned to see that it was Sparky.

"Sparky, good to see you." He said. "How goes your search?" Sparky shook his head.

"The way I came from is my starting position." He replied. "What about you, how far have you gone?" Gene shook his head as well.

"Same." He said. He looked at the wall and pulled out a piece of chalk, one of his requested supplies. He marked an arrow pointing to Sparky, then turned around and drew another in the direction he came from. He then put an 'X' by each, signaling that if others came by, that it was a dead end. "Keep close, we need to get to the others." Sparky nodded as they walked. They both whistled at the same time, the signal that they had found each other, and how big their group was. They then heard two separate whistles, one from one person, and one from two. "Good. It's not just us that have managed to be found." Sparky nodded.

"Yeah, good information to have." He agreed. "I just hope that Art's okay. You know his sense of direction." Gene nodded.

"Gets lost on a one way street." He said quickly. They both laughed while they turned the corner, Gene marking the way with another arrow with an 'X'.

The chalk was olive drab, same as his armor. He also wrote a '2' next to the 'X' signifying that they had found each other.

Each Omega had a piece of chalk, colored differently for each one. Gene had olive drab, Liz had red, Art had blue, Sparky had green, and Zed had brown.

"Hope he's okay." Sparky said quietly. Gene nodded slowly, keeping his eyes open for another arrow. They came to another crossroad, and Gene once again pulled out the sonar. Sparky looked around and saw a red arrow with an X, pointing to the way in front of them. "Can't go straight ahead, and it's Liz that left it." Gene nodded as he turned the makeshift sonar on and waited for the return pulse.

"Two heading our way." He noted. "I can't make out who it is though." Sparky watched as his brother and Zed turned the corner. "Medical and Explosives. Not the best of combinations, but they'll do." Sparky jumped slightly, raising his right hand in the air. Art did the same as Zed marked the wall they came from three times; not the right way, and a party of two. The two approached as Gene turned the sonar off and put it in its holster. The two saluted Gene, who did the same. "At ease, what's the situation?" The two shook their heads.

"No sign of Liz save an arrow a long way back there." Zed replied. Gene nodded, pointing to the red arrow nearby.

"She went forward from here." He explained. "We'd best hurry. We all have to leave the maze together, and it's already been five minutes." Gene turned around as the four of them started whistling. They waited for ten seconds. "Liz must either be out of range, or in trouble." He pulled out his small comm. and switched it on. The rest did the same as Gene held it up to his helmet. He'd swiped one since his suits internal comm. wasn't working. "Liz?" The other radios made a low pitched hum. "Art, try yours."

"Liz?" He asked into the small device. The radios made the sound of tape ripping, medical tape to be precise. "They make a different sound based on our individual voice patterns." Gene nodded. They still didn't get a reply. "She must be in trouble. And we couldn't get the cameras, and you've got the only flare."

"I've still got one trick up my armored sleeve." He said. He pulled out the sonar and flicked a switch on the side, the one he installed to return the device to its normal mode. "Here goes nothing." He turned it on and got nothing but static. "That can't be good. But it makes perfect sense." The others looked at him. "They took into account that my suit has an X-ray scanner. The whole maze is lead lined." They looked at the walls, each one with a different look.

"What now Sensei?" The twins spoke as one, something they often did to annoy their instructors. Gene turned it off and opened it up after flicking the switch.

"If I turn this small dial in here, I can boost the range to map more of the maze." He commented. "But I'll probably only get two uses of it. Two bursts of two pulses and the battery will probably die." They all nodded as he turned the dial to the end and returned the cover. "Here goes, my very last trick." He flipped the switch and they all heard a very faint, but high pitched whine, followed by another three seconds later, followed by Gene turning it off, quickly holstering it. "She's in deep. There's an Elite in here, guarding the exit." They all gasped. "I'm going ahead. Take this path, then a left, then a right, then two lefts, then another right." They all nodded as he turned around and ran down the corridor, vanishing behind the turn as they started their own run.

...

Liz was staring down the Elite, looking into its cold eyes. It had no weapon, and she could see that there was nobody to help her if it attacked.

It was waiting for her to make the first move. It had its upper mouth flaps closed, its lower ones moving as it breathed. It then moved its right hand, making her eyes dart to it for a second.

"You're either brave or foolish young human." It snarled. "Leave me be or I will strike you down where you stand." It was a male, by the sound of the voice.

Liz did not flinch. She had been able to keep up with Gene in sparring matches for a few minutes, but he had better stamina and tougher skin and bones.

"I'm not afraid of you." She replied. "And I'm not just a human; I'm a Spartan." The Elite laughed for a moment, never taking his eyes off of her.

"You think that a title will save you?" It growled. "Arrogant human!" The Elite dashed forward and slammed his fist into her chest, forcing her back several inches before she kicked him in the chest, knocking him back as well.

"Bastard Elite, you should know not to underestimate my race." She called angrily.

The Elite growled before rushing her, grabbing her by the throat with his right hand and pinning her arms against the wall with his left. He moved his right leg over hers to keep her from retaliating as he looked into her eyes, his head turned to his right, not seeing the olive drab armored human slowly stepping around the corner.

"You would do well not to struggle." It said calmly. "I may yet let you live, perhaps as a pet." She spat in his eye.

"I'd rather die." She growled.

The Elite made to slam her head against the wall when something heavy hit him in the side. He turned his head to look and Liz managed to break free as Gene threw his communicator at him.

"Insolent humans!" It yelled. It turned to attack Liz again when Gene slammed into him with the force of a small car, breaking his left arm in the process. As he started to scream, Gene ripped off one of his mandibles, making him scream louder.

Gene shoved his armored right hand into the chest of the Elite as it stopped screaming.

"What are you?" It coughed. It spat up dark blood as Gene removed his fist. He had avoided the organs and snapped the spine, paralyzing the Elites arms and legs. Somehow, it was still alive.

"We're Spartans." He answered grimly. "And we are the ones who will kill the covenant." The Elite laughed, his life fading fast. He was stubborn, and did not want to die, hanging on to the bitter end.

"You think you have a chance against us?" He asked weakly. "You will fail before you become adults." Gene stood up as the others turned the corner.

"Not a chance." Liz said. The Elite laughed again before looking up at Gene.

"You're still in training." It said wearily. "I heard your parents saying I was to test you." Liz gasped, but Gene just stood there.

"I thought so." He said quietly. "Are there more of your kind here, or were you just a present for us?" The Elite laughed again.

"I was the lone survivor of my group." It explained. "I just wish I had my brother with me. He would put you in your place." Gene stomped the Elites head into the floor and twisted his ankle twice.

"I don't think there is a competition." He said clearly. "I think this was our graduation test." The three stragglers walked up, also realizing this fact. This was why nobody else talked about what they were going to do and why John-117 was just transferred.

"What now?" Liz asked. She and the other Omegas looked at Gene, who removed his helmet. He held it in his left hand and looked at her.

"I don't know." He replied. "But we'd better get out of here. This crud isn't going to wash itself off." They all laughed as they walked out of the maze, their C.O. standing next to four suits of armor, each with the Omega symbol on the right shoulder. They stopped five feet from him and gave a salute.

"You did a good job Omegas." He said proudly. "By now, you may have realized that this was your graduation exam. You've all shown that you have what it takes to be the best of the best." They all rested their arms as they looked at the man before them. He was old, but had a youthful look about him. "Gene, you have the choice. Will you and your team stay here and train, or would you go out and fight this alien menace?" Gene looked at the others.

"What do you think team?" He called to them. "Stay here, or kick some ass?" He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear them from his team.

"We're with you sir." The twins said together as they saluted him quickly.

"Whatever you think is best Boss." Zed answered. He raised his hand and dropped it, almost casually.

"To the ends of the universe and back sir." Liz replied, saluting him as well. Gene looked at their leader.

"Sir, we are ready to fight, sir." He affirmed. They all saluted their commander, who returned it with a smile.

"All right then." He said, still grinning. "Pack up your gear and get cleaned up. You're heading out as soon as possible." With that, their leader walked away.

...

"I can't believe it." Zed called happily. "We're finally going to kill some Covenant." He was packing up his belongings, happy to be wearing his new armor. He was going to make a few changes to the color, keeping the Olive drab, but adding some gray to the shoulders.

"Yeah, we're finally getting our chance to put those bastards in their place." Art said. He was looking at his helmet, both he and his brother having finished packing some time ago.

"Yeah." Sparky agreed. "We'll strike some real fear into 'em." He was getting used to standing in his new armor. It was heavy, but they could all flip Scorpion tanks with ease, so this was nothing to moan about.

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourselves?" Liz asked. "We still have to get our registration numbers, identification, and our ranks." All but she and Gene laughed.

Gene had already gotten his numbers and I.D. and was only in need of rank, of which he thought he would get lieutenant colonel.

"Should we tell them Liz?" He asked. Liz had packed her stuff into her duffel bag and was sitting by Gene, also finished. John watched them, in awe of how calm they were.

"Sure, no time like the present." She replied. She was blushing, though Gene was smiling. "But let's wait for Zed. He's got a lot of things from home." Zed nodded as he carefully placed a picture of his mother and father into the bag.

"Go ahead, I'm done." He said. He zipped the bag shut and stood up, slinging it over his left shoulder, holding his helmet in his right.

Gene and Liz stood up together and looked at their friends.

"This morning, before any of you woke up." He began.

"Gene and I had made a decision." She continued. Gene stood on the left of her and took her left hand in his right, now fully cleaned of blood.

"We've officially started dating." They said together. All of the other Omegas smiled.

"Congrats." Zed said. He set his helmet down and patted his chest, not wanting to set his duffel down.

"Good on ya." Art said as he clapped his armored hands together, muffled by the pads.

"We're all happy for you." Sparky said as he imitated his brother while John sat on his bed, watching them.

"Omegas, it's time for you to head out." Sarah said. She walked in and looked at the five Spartan team before her. She then looked at John. "And John, you'll be staying here for a while. A new set of recruits will be here in a few days." John nodded.

"Understood." He affirmed. His voice was like Genes when he had first heard him respond to Sarah.

"Not again." Sarah sighed. The Omegas laughed as Gene patted John on the back.

"Learning from me isn't a good idea John, especially my style." He said. John chuckled. His voice was deep, but not like Genes.

"I know, I'm just messin' around." John said. "I'm going to miss you guys." Gene looked at the honorary Omega.

"We're going to miss you John." He said proudly. "But do us a favor; make sure you keep your friends as safe as you can. When the world is crumbling around you, you can always look to a friend for help and support." John smiled as Gene stepped back to salute him. He stood up and returned the gesture. "You're the leader of the Omega barracks now. Make me proud soldier."

"Sir, yes, sir." John called. They lowered their arms and smiled. Omega team put their helmets on and picked up their stuff and left without another word.

…

All right, I'm liking my little repairs. I would have added more, but I'm not re-writing the entire thing. I'm just making a few tweaks and adding some marks so you know who's talking.


	3. Back in the fight

Disclaimer: I don't own the Halo franchise. There, I said it.

It's been too long since I last posted a story or updated one, so I guess this is the first of a few. I'm going to be busy for a while, thinking up stuff for the Magical Hero sequel. I'm also re-writing parts of all of my other stories, fixing up the grammar, adding the 'He said/She said/They said' parts so you'll know who's talking without having to guess. I'm very sorry for not adding that the first time around to be honest.

I'd also like to take the time to ask a question. Why do so few people write reviews these days? I've only been around for ten months, and reviews have been kind of scarce. If you don't leave reviews, other authors and I will have no way to improve. Please leave reviews. If you can take the time to read a fanfic, you have plenty of time to leave at least a short review.

But you probably don't care about my ranting, so go ahead and ignore me. On with the show before I get bored.

…

It has been some time since Omega team left Reach. A long time. They've managed to defeat more Covenant forces than any other platoon in the Marines. And to top it off, they were about to receive a mission that would change their lives.

They are now twenty years old, despite that so many years have gone by. When they weren't on active missions, they would be frozen so they could make the most out of their life spans.

They had received their new armor, the Mark V, and had become three times as lethal as a result. Each armor was different, reflecting their unique style of their jobs.

…

Gene woke with an unusual clamber. Something was going on, and he was going to hate it. He had been frozen for ten years this time, far longer than intended. The ship was de-pressurized and all but a few of the crew were in stasis.

The ship was the Rebel Yell, named for its rebellious crew. They had defied orders and destroyed five Covenant cruisers in a single battle, thus allowing them to avoid being tried for treason.

"Gene, we have a big problem." A female voice spoke. Gene groggily stepped out of his stasis tube, intent on finding out why he was awake.

"What's the situation?" He asked. "Hopefully that they're giving us a big breakfast." He stretched as Liz pulled his assault rifle from the air, which alerted him to the first problem. "Why the no grav?" He took his rifle and held it ready, hoping the Covenant were behind it.

"The ship is damaged and we're headed for Earth." Liz explained. "We're supposed to be arriving in a few minutes." Gene looked around, seeing dead humans floating around them.

"Damn." He muttered. "There goes my hope for breakfast." Liz giggled. She and Gene were the only ones awake, mainly because the other three were already on Earth.

The others had been assigned to guard the Earth in case the Covenant ever found it, a safe guard thought of years ago. They were still frozen, but would be let out once a year, on their birthdays. They weren't older, but they still celebrated another year alive nonetheless. It was the same each year as well; twenty candles on the cake, and the gift of new weaponry if possible. If not weapons, they would receive minor upgrades to their suits.

Gene and Liz were kept on constant active duty, both of them approaching the biological age of twenty one. Gene had thirty seven days, Liz had thirteen. They had been officially married as well, and were happy that they worked so well together. So well, Omega team was split into two parts; Omega Earth defense and Omega combat unit. The two Omega leaders were more deadly together, with or without the other three members.

"So what should we do when we get home?" Liz asked. "Our families are all probably dead by now." Gene shrugged.

"No clue." He replied casually. "But I think we're up for a few medals, so we've got that to look forward to." Liz looked at the floor below her; she had a problem with low gravity. "You okay Liz? You look a bit unsettled." She laughed for a moment; He always seemed to know how she felt, even though they hardly ever saw each others faces.

"I'll be fine." She answered. "I just hate space. Ever since boot camp." Gene pressed a button on his right arm and he slowly landed on the floor. Liz did the same and breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on, we're supposed to relieve the crew so they can freeze themselves. We've got to pull this thing in to the station." She heard him laugh incredulously.

He was able to pilot any vehicle, but he hated flying large ships like this. He always hoped that the auto pilot would take care of it, but he always ended up flying the large ships while Liz worked the engines.

"Dandy." He said with mock enthusiasm. "I'm to pull this massive chunk of titanium alloy into a station I've never seen before. Just dandy." Liz laughed again as she led him out of the room while a number of humans walked past, looking tired.

"Don't worry; I'll make it worth your while." She assured him. He knew she was smiling even though she wore her helmet.

The link they had developed had grown over time, making them aware of each others surroundings. Liz could even send messages if her comm. link was broken. Gene however had developed in a different manner; He could now look a short distance into the future, further aiding him in his sniping ability, as well as any general fighting situation.

"I like the sound of that." He said playfully. He followed her to the bridge, though his thoughts began wandering to the state of the ship. There were many holes in the sides of the ship, and many places on the wall had blood caked on. As they arrived on the bridge, Gene smiled. 'We're back. I can't believe it's been so long since we left.' Liz sat down as Gene looked over his console, running his hand along it lovingly.

"Rebel Yell, do you read?" A gruff voice called. "This is the Attenuator, do you read us?" Gene picked up the frequency on his HUD and looked over at Liz, who nodded.

"This is the Rebel Yell; we read you loud and clear." He replied. He looked ahead and saw a large station unlike the ones he had seen when he was only fourteen. "Are we cleared for approach?"

"You're clear for approach, but be careful." The voice affirmed. "You don't look like you can take much more stress, so ease in." He couldn't recognize the voice at first, but it sounded familiar.

"Roger that." Gene replied. "I'll take it slow and steady." He heard a click on the other end as the transmission ended.

"Sounds like he takes his job seriously." A female voice said. Gene looked down beside him; at the AI currently in control of the ship. Her name was Allison, and she was a special AI designed specifically for him.

"Let's just concentrate on bringing the Yell in without any damage from here on out." He said. "She's suffered more than enough already." The small green AI nodded.

Each of the Omegas had found a way to make their own AI program for their suits, and using data provided from Allison, they had made them able to survive as long as they did.

Allison is a prototype Artificial Intelligence construct with a unique feature; She had an increased lifespan, so that she could serve with the Omegas as long as she needed to. She would become their link to the present time, whenever that would be at the time. She linked to an implant in Gene's brain, giving him info about events that he missed while he slept. She would also be able to take over his armor if he fell unconscious in battle or if he had to rest when they needed to keep moving.

"You sure you can bring this ship in without destroying the dock?" She asked.

"Yes Ally, as long as you and Liz help me keep the throttle in place." He replied. Liz laughed audibly, though only they could hear it.

"You and your lead foot." She giggled. "Hand, whatever." He sat in his chair and set the computer systems to bring the ship in, though he had to control the thrusters.

…

"Good to see you've improved." A man said to Gene. "I kept hearing about a Spartan with a habit of crashing Pelicans into the landing bays. A Spartan by the name of Gene-001. Sound familiar?" Gene shrugged.

"I can't help when the engines die on me." He explained. "One minute they're fine, the next, Liz and I are walking out of a flaming wreck." Liz shrugged as well.

They were outside their armor, which were being outfitted with stronger shields and new features. They sat at a table in the mess area, eating the first solid breakfast they had seen in a long time.

"Well, at least you made it in without doing any heavy damage." The man said. "That's good enough for me." This man is Commander Riggs, the man in charge of the Attenuator. Gene was slowly enjoying a plate of hash browns while Liz was quietly eating a small bowl of salad. "You're team is doing well, they're being thawed out as we speak. You'll be planet side soon, so I hope you're ready for some time off." Gene shrugged. He really didn't care what he was doing, since he planned to ask for time off anyway.

"Good to know." He said after swallowing a mouth full of hash browns. "I'm sure the twins are going to be thrilled to see us again." Liz nodded as she began working on a small plate of eggs while Gene finished his fourth plate of hash browns.

"I'd heard Spartans got hungry, but at the rate you're eating, you won't be able to fit into your armor." Riggs said. Gene finished his plate and set it on top of the others.

"Curse of my body." He replied. "I've got a metabolism way above the average Spartan." Liz nodded. They would be given rooms later, followed by a natural rest for a while.

"Yeah." She agreed. "Gene's always been a big eater. They even had to make special meal packs for him, just to make him able to hold out on long missions." Riggs laughed as Gene finished his beverage, a cup of green tea.

He was an odd Spartan, but he was labeled as the best. He had racked up more kills than five platoons in his first mission, and he had only gotten better. Ten years away from a fight though, could drastically alter that.

"You look a bit tired, why don't you go rest in your quarters?" Riggs suggested. "I'll let you know when your suits are ready." Gene and Liz nodded as they finished their breakfast.

They stood up and saluted the Commander and walked away, striding almost perfectly in sync. Other soldiers watched as the two Spartans walked away, some cheering, some saluting, and some looking at Liz with a look of confusion.

She still hadn't developed as most women did. Her chest was almost completely flat, and she had short hair.

As they left the mess hall, they stepped on a tram and were on their way to a short vacation.

…

When Gene closed the door behind him, he looked at the room. Most Spartans were given special implants that had a side effect that repressed their sex drive. Two of the Omega Spartans had somehow avoided that fate, mostly because the two of them had stronger drives than most, but partly because of how much they cared for each other.

"So, what shall we do first?" She asked. He turned to see Liz under the covers of their bed, and her clothes everywhere but. "Or do you want me to choose?" She had an air about her that made Gene smile.

"You're choice this time, if memory servers." He said as he walked over to the bed, taking his shirt off along the way, casting it aside casually.

He had a scar on his chest from a plasma sword from just under his left armpit to just above his right hip. Thanks to his suit, the damage was minimal, but he had to replace the suit afterwards.

…

"John, we're almost there." Johnson asked. "Are you ready?" The man in the armor was tapping his foot. He had just finished giving a report on something that had happened involving him, a fleet of Covenant, a large ring, and a parasite that killed people and brought them back from the dead.

"Always." John answered. He was a man of few words, speaking only when necessary, and even then only what he felt he had to say.

He was on a station awaiting an award ceremony, along with Sergeant Major Avery Johnson.

…

"That was beautiful." Liz said happily. "And they said that we wouldn't be able to this." Gene laughed as she held her body to his. She smiled as he kissed the top of her head, making her blush. "Ready for round two?" He began nodding when something rocked the station.

"What the hell was that?" He asked quickly. Liz shot up and looked out their window as a Covenant ship passed dangerously close by.

"Covenant." She replied. "They've found Earth!" Gene stood up and looked over to his clothes. His armor, now being upgraded, was the only thing between him and a plasma bolt. They pulled on their shirts and pants and each picked up two Magnum handguns.

"Looks like our vacation is postponed." She said in an annoyed tone. She threw a small headset to Gene as their room door opened. It was a pair of soldiers, looking frantic.

"Commander Riggs says that your armor's ready." One of them said quickly. "He also said to get to the armory and retrieve them and get these bastards out of here." They threw a couple of packages to the Spartans. It was a couple of regulation Marine energy shielded armor. "Use this to get there. It doesn't recharge fast, but it should do for now."

The door shut and they hastily donned the armor as they saw one of the stations explode. They picked up the pace, placing the helmets on their heads when the door burst open.

"You shall die this day humans!" An Elite yelled. It ran in with a plasma sword armed and lunged at Gene. That was the last thing he ever did.

"Right idea." He said calmly. He grabbed the arm of the blue armored warrior and broke it in three places, turning the blade inward. Into the face of a very stunned Elite. "Wrong species, on both counts." Gene removed the blade from the dead aliens hand and shut it off. "We've got to get our armor, and make sure that they didn't put a bomb with us." Liz nodded as Gene put the handle of the sword in his pocket.

…

"How much time was left?" John asked. He looked down at the spiky object that was a bomb, having sent Cortana inside through a wireless link.

"You don't want to know." She replied.

…

Gene and Liz raced through the station, nearing the armory which was guarded by no less than three Elites and ten Grunts. They had picked up a shotgun each, as well as a number of Plasma grenades.

"Fourth of July?" Gene asked. He looked over their makeshift cover, behind which also hid five marines, who looked confused.

"Fourth of July." Liz agreed. They both pulled out two Plasma grenades each, priming them.

Without warning, they jumped up and tossed their bombs at the stunned Covenant forces, Gene's grenades sticking one Grunt in the chest and one scared looking Elite on the groin. The Grunt ran into the other Grunts as Liz's grenades stuck to the other two Elites.

Gene smiled at the carnage, all of their targets dead with ammo to spare.

"What now Sirs?" One Marine asked. Gene looked around, hoping they could get in and out without being flanked.

"All of you hold this position while Liz and I retrieve our armor." He ordered. "After that, do as you will." With that, the Spartans ran into the room and hastily began the process of getting into their immensely heavy suits, now modified with stronger shields and a few other additions.

…

"Sir, permission to leave the station." John asked as he began dragging the heavy explosive into the airlock.

"For what purpose Master Chief?" Lord Hood asked. John grinned behind his helmet.

"To give the Covenant back their bomb." He answered. Lord Hood smiled slightly as he realized what the Spartan had in mind.

"Permission granted." He said.

John got the bomb into the room and opened a small panel, behind which was a lever.

"What if you miss?" Cortana asked. She wondered if they would be shot in the attempt.

"I won't." John answered. He pulled the lever and braced himself, waiting for the ordinance to get close enough to grab.

…

"It still has that new MJOLNIR smell." Gene commented. Liz laughed as she put on her helmet, looking out the window. She saw a small purple object being flung out of a station with something olive drab attached to it.

"Look at this." She said to him. He looked out a window and saw the sight, zooming in on it with his sensors.

"A Spartan with a bomb heading toward a Covenant Capital ship." He noted. They saw a spot get blasted away, followed by the bomb going in. "Must be one of the twins." Seconds later, the Spartan in question flew out the hole fast. As he made more distance, the entire ship exploded brilliantly, sending the Spartan to land on top of a Halcyon class ship.

…

Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and Miranda Keyes were on the bridge of the In Amber Clad when they heard a loud thud. Johnson smirked, knowing that it was the Chief.

"For a brick, he flew pretty good." He said, removing his cigar.

…

Gene and Liz made it down to the location where they heard the bomb was planted. Allison was in his helmet, hoping he wouldn't do the same as the crazy Spartan before had done.

"Just shut the bomb down and get us planet side." Ally warned. Gene laughed as the elevator came to a stop.

He had just activated his favorite weapon, now fixed to his suits right forearm. It was small, but the damage it could deal was practically criminal; a small Gatling gun with plasma based ammo, drawing power from the reserve charge systems to keep a constant stream of fire going. He was now rotating the barrel in a threatening manner.

"Don't worry; we're staying on station until we get a ship." He assured her. "Then we're going to go down there and kick those cowards back to their home worlds with their tails in a sling." Gene raised his right arm to an even level and began feeding energy to his weapon as Liz activated her own integrated weapon; a forearm mounted energy blade, about five feet long, though she could adjust the width and length to make it into a spear should she deem it necessary.

…

"Is the bomb secure?" A white armored Elite asked. He stood over a bunch of Grunts when his head suddenly turned around, all the way, with a sickening crack. The Grunts all stared as the body went limp, then one fainted when he saw the large olive drab armor. One turned to another and tapped him on the shoulder.

"We're all going to die, aren't we?" One asked. They both nodded as Gene picked them both up, Liz cutting the rest in half.

"You have three seconds after I put you down to disarm this bomb." He warned. "I might let you both live if you do. If not, I'm going to blast you both into bloody stains." The Grunts looked at each other and nodded. They both pulled a plasma grenade from behind them, followed by Gene crushing their skulls in like grapes. "And I didn't even get to use my weapon. Such a shame."

He placed his right hand over a glowing spot on the bomb and Allison transferred in and defused it. Gene sighed as he knew they were in for another big assignment. He placed his hand over the bomb and Allison came back to his suit. He stretched as Liz wrapped her left arm around his shoulders, the blade on the right now inactive.

"At least we got a little time to ourselves." She said happily. Gene nodded as they walked back to the elevator, stomping the head of the unconscious Grunt into the grated floor beneath them.


End file.
